As we progress on the path leading to Self-Realization, or Moksha, there is a common point that is encountered, exemplified by Ram, known as "the dispassion of Ram" as recorded in the Yoga Vashista. Ram is an incarnation of Vishnu who came to show us what to expect on the path to Moksha, and beyond.

Our story begins when Ram is about 16 years old and has just returned from traveling around his father's kingdom. He sinks into a deep depression because he has realized the futility of life in the universe. He has realized that this universe is not at all real, it is just a mirage or illusion, so what is the purpose of continuing to live in this illusory place?

Ram reasons:

Wealth does not satisfy; it generates a craving for more.

Everyone seeks a long life span but this is only filled with misery.

All suffering revolves around the sense of individuality.

The mind is constantly dissatisfied and gets more restless each day.

Desires and cravings drive us mad and can never be satisfied.

The Body, a source of pleasure to some, is a home of illness, mental distress and changing emotions.

Childhood, regarded by some as a period of happiness and innocence, is characterized by helplessness, foolishness, inability to express oneself, dependency on others and changing moods.

Youth is a phase in life that is consumed by lust and passion.

In old age the body is weak and unable to satisfy desires, yet the desires continue to flourish and it is too late to make one’s life meaningful.

Death is inevitable.

Hidden behind the treacherous joys of worldly life are the jaws of Death.

Ram's life shows us the solution to this delima. At first the natural reaction to such a realization is to withdraw, become selfish and self-centered, and attempt to disengage from the world. Even Ram did this for a while. But not long after his "dark night of the soul" experience, he realized that the key to happiness and fulfillment in life is service to others. So he vowed to become an exemplary leader and served the people of his father's kingdom, and later his kingdom, for the rest of his life.

Ram was nothing like the current crop of world "leaders" who are greedy, simple-minded, self-centered people, and not leaders at all. A true leader gives selflessly of his time, knowledge, and resources to uplift and support everyone. A true leader thinks only of the welfare of the person that crosses his or her path and showers unconditional love and acceptance on the person. This is the life of someone in Brahman Consciousness.

The next step beyond the dispassion of Ram is Brahman Consciousness! So cheer up if you find yourself in this predicament, you are on the threshhold of Moksha and life in Brahman Consciousness.

How to take the next step and achieve Moksha? Transcend. That is the one thing, actually the only thing, that anyone can do to achieve Moksha, and Moksha is the goal of human existence. We must go beyond the 4 individual bodies (anamaya kosha, pranamaya kosha, manomaya kosha, vijanamaya kosha) and experience ourself as the Anandamaya Kosha. One experience of Anandama Kosha changes everything (Maharishi referred to this a "big T Transcending") - this is the dawn of Moksha.

Fortunately, transcending is effortless and possible for anyone who can think a thought. But the experience of the Anandamaya Kosha can take time and persistent practice of meditation techniques. The universe is actually a mental construct in the mind of the Creator, and we are dream creatures in the vast dream which is our universe. Each one of us has the same capability as the Creator to use our minds to create. We just need training and practice.

If we really want to achieve the goal of human existence in this lifetime, it will take dedication to the practice of meditation. Everytime we meditate we make a step of progress. So we set aside a few minutes a day to meditate.

That seems simple enough, but in practice it is often not so simple to set aside the time every single day to practice meditation. This is the reason we are establishing communities of like-minded individuals who all are intent on achieving Moksha in this lifetime. To make sure you accomplish the goal of human existence in this lifetime, join a Goloka Sanctuary Community!

A human life is the most precious thing in the universe and very rare. We have existed in this universe for over 150 trillion years. Imagine the lifetimes you have wasted by not achieving Moksha - tens of thousands. But this life will be different. In this life you know the value of Moksha and you know how to achieve it. It will not be easy because the winds of your karma are opposed to Moksha. You will need to exert your will and determination and you need to shield your life from your karma. Then you can succeed.

The MahaYajna Vitara is an essential tool for achieving Moksha because it will shield your life from your karma.

Is thought beyond karma? More specifically, is an individual thought beyond karma? It is created somewhere, but it does not seem to be created by the individual. Isn't one's thought, one's will, one's awareness, all activity, even yagyas, all part of karma?

You have said, more or less, that karma builds after some time of disharmonic actions. Can the first such action be anything other than random? An ultimately, is not any "subsequent" moment anything other than all possibilities expressing itself. If the nature of Reality being infinite means that the awareness of any one Moment is nothing other than a random experience of any one aspect of Reality, understood by the bound mind as a logical and sequential result of cause and effect, how can it be said that an individual chooses or creates? When all simply Is, what is to be done?

I see not where I create a thought, only that the thought or choice is in my awareness when it is in my awareness. So until awareness expands beyond myself, I am helpless. There is no doing, only, what is.

So much talk about doing this and doing that all the time. "Do this or you will suffer..." - but is there really any "averting what has not yet come"? Is such action not simply another aspect of what is?

Yes, to the individual, lost and struggling, "take this action and you will find your way", that is appropriate. But where is the counsel for acceptance? Isn't that the most important truth for the individual bound by limited awareness?

Thought can arise in the mind from 2 sources: 1) Karma and 2) An impulse of the Divine.

Karma is the prime source of thoughts in the mind, from the unwinding of karma or stress during meditation, to thoughts about the past or future. Any thought that is not perfectly in alignment with the present moment would most likely be sourced in karma. The individual can also create a thought. This is the value of a human life, we have the unique ability to create thoughts; we can think a thought. So for example if we meditate and think the mantra, we are creating a thought, a very pure vibration that is not spawned by our karma. This is why meditation can take us beyond our karma to Moksha. The same for yajna, precise thoughts that actually create devas that will ultimately shield us from our karma. We may have a predisposition to meditate from past life karma but the act in this life is a choice we take that literally changes our destiny. Karma is like a wind that blows and it is easy to go with that wind and difficult to oppose it, but we can oppose it. For some, the act of meditation is in direct opposition to the wind, for others the wind is at their back.

The first act of karma would not be random, it would be an action that is literally a mistake. As human beings we have independent free will. Karma creates boundaries that limit our free will. So the first act of karma would be taken by free will with no limitations. The second act would have some boundary imposed by the first act, and so on.
By now, over 150 trillion years into this universe's life, we have all lived countless lifetimes and created mountain ranges of karma. Now, in this life we discover the only way out of this spiraling into the abyss of ignorance is to transcend. We must use the tiny fragment of free left to decide to do something that will allow escape from the web of karma.

Until one transcends and expands awareness, one is hopelessly trapped in the maze of karma. But if we can expand awareness to unbounded awareness, literally to the limits of the universe, which seems infinite and unbounded because we are inside of it, then we have freedom, we have expanded beyond a point value and karma has no place to come to roost. As Maharishi once said, when we achieve Moksha or Cosmic Consciousness, the karma cannot find the individual, "the letter is returned to sender."

Then what happens? Do all thoughts cease to come in the mind? Essentially yes. Only thoughts that are the need of the time will arise; these are the thoughts of the Divine.

Averting what is yet to come is the purpose of yajna. And there are two types of yajna: 1) yajnas that provide a band aid to protect from some specific karma that is likely to come into the life and 2) yajnas that create a permanent shield from all future karma. To have the intelligence and free will necessary to elect to perform yajnas of type 1 is very good and these yajnas will definitely smooth out the bumps in the road, if one continually performs them. But if one is sincere about achieving Moksha, then type 2 becomes a possibility. This type is a gift of the Divine that is waiting for everyone, when we have the clarity to claim it. Then our destiny truly changes and all struggling ceases.